Courts-Martial Defense

COURTS-MARTIAL DEFENSE

When a service-member is suspected of criminal activity and violations of the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ), a Courts-Martial may be used used to prosecute them. Troy A. Smith brings over 18 years of highly competent and qualified litigation and appellate experience to the table as a former Criminal Defense Counsel for the United States Army and as a New York City homicide prosecutor.

Mr. Smith has represented hundreds of individuals charged with crimes at every level courts-martial. In describing Mr. Smith’s results at trial, an accomplished Military Trial Judge previously commented that “Troy Smith’s results at trial vary form merely impressive to almost unbelievable. Further, in dubbing Troy the unofficial “ACQUITTAL KING” of the United States Army, the Military Judge noted that Mr. Smith has the highest acquittal rate that he had ever observed in his more than twenty years of practice and possibly the highest acquittal rate in the history of the military.

Mr. Smith is also widely regarded as a subject matter expert in litigating the coercive interrogation techniques used by law enforcement which may lead to a false confession. The insight he has gained into the criminal justice system will prove invaluable to you as an accused within that system.

If you are a service member who is in need of a civilian military criminal defense attorney, contact Courts-Martial Defense Attorney Troy A. Smith at (914) 358-1433, by email at Troy@JAG-Lawyer.com.

ABOUT COURTS-MARTIALS

There are three types of Courts-Martial proceedings that are employed by the military. They are:

Summary Courts-Martial

The lowest level of court-martial used predominantly to prosecute enlisted service members for minor criminal offenses. The maximum punishment at a Summary Court-Martial includes confinement for no more than thirty days. A Summary Court-Martial does not have the authority to separate a service member from the military.

These types of court-martial are presided over by a single commissioned military officer who does not need to have any legal training or be a lawyer to judge the proceedings. The accused is not permitted to have legal counsel physically present; which makes the consultation and document gathering process of this kind of courts-martial vitally important.

The legal consultation may be with a military or civilian criminal defense attorney, and the accused may also request that their case be referred to another level of court-martial where the accused will have more rights and be permitted counsel as well as trial by jury or military judge.

Special Courts-Martial empowered to adjudge a Bad-Conduct Discharge (BCD)

Also known as a BCD Special Courts-martial, this level court-martial, is used to prosecute offenses and crimes that are considered misdemeanors in the civilian criminal justice system. The maximum punishment at a BCD Special Court-Martial is reduction to the lowest enlisted grade, forfeiture of 2/3 pay for 12 months, confinement for one year and a Bad-Conduct Discharge.

At a BCD Special Courts-Martial, the accused has the choice of having his case heard by a jury panel of at least three officers, or by a military judge alone. The enlisted service member also has the option of asking for a panel consisting of at least 1/3 enlisted service members.

General Courts-Martial

The highest level of court-martial, the General Courts-Martial (GCM) gives the accused an additional preliminary hearing called an Article 32(b), UCMJ hearing. Although this is similar to a grand jury proceeding or a preliminary hearing in civilian court as the hearing must produce an ‘objective and impartial finding of probable cause’, it differs in that the hearing is not conducted in secret, the accused may have counsel present as representation and to cross-examine and confront witnesses. Further, the accused is allowed to present evidence, testify, call witnesses, present documents, and present argument.

This proceeding is decided by an impartial military officer after hearing all of the evidence, who will determine if there is enough evidence to allow the charges to move forward, and to which level of court-martial. This is only a recommendation however, and is further evaluated by the Commander who called the pretrial investigation to determine whether the case is sent to court-martial.

If a case is brought to a General Court-Martial, the maximum punishment depends upon the nature of the offense but often includes confinement for more than one year and a dishonorable discharge. At a General Court-Martial, the accused has the choice of having his case decided by a jury panel of at least five officers, or by a military judge alone. The enlisted service member also has the option of asking for a panel consisting of at least 1/3 enlisted service members.

At both a General Court-Martial and a BCD Special Court-Martial, a free military defense counsel is provided to the accused. The accused may also hire a civilian defense attorney at their own expense. The most important factors for any accused service member to consider when hiring a civilian defense attorney is the amount of experience the attorney has with military criminal defense work, and how successful they have been in representing service members.

Mr. Smith has represented hundreds of individuals charged with crimes at every level court-martial. In describing Mr. Smith’s results at trial, an accomplished Military Trial Judge previously commented that “Troy Smith’s results at trial vary form merely impressive to almost unbelievable. Further, in dubbing Troy the unofficial “ACQUITTAL KING” of the United States Army, the Military Judge noted that Mr. Smith has the highest acquittal rate that he had ever observed in his more than twenty years of practice and possibly the highest acquittal rate in the history of the military.

If you are a service member who is in need of a civilian Military Criminal Defense Attorney, contact Military Attorney Troy A. Smith at (914) 358-1433 or by email at Troy@JAG-Lawyer.com, or use the contact form HERE.